A pinch of June Cleaver, a dash of Martha Stewart, & a whole lotta Mommy! My domestic diary...the good, the bad, & the ugly ;)

Monday, December 5, 2016

Elf'd Up

We welcomed our mischievous little elf into our home about 6 years ago. Over the last six years, I've realized this little trickster sure is the cause for quite a bit of controversy.

You either:

A) Hate the elf and keep him far away from you and your family.

B) Think he's too creepy for Christmas

C) Feel like it's cruel to tell your kids the elf is watching them {I mean, after all, they should want to behave on their own merit, right?! If you're using him as leverage, you're doing something wrong as a parent, right?!}

D) Want to punch all the "bored moms with nothing better to do" in the throat for going to such elaborate lengths to position the elf in such ways that make you feel like a slacker

E) Have feelings about the elf that can only be explained through expletives

F) Love the idea, but not the trickery...ain't nobdy got time to stage the elf and pick up his mess

OR...

G) You're all about getting elf'd up...bring on the creepy faced little nugget and all his elf'in shenanigans :)

Let me just tell you that I've pretty much experienced all of the above.

For the last few years, I fall into category G. I am that "bored" mom with "nothing better to do" than place my little elf into mischievous situations every (ahem...ALMOST every) night before I go to bed.

And I do it for two simple reasons...

These two :)

They get SUCH a kick out of the elf. They anxiously wake up every morning and scour the house for his hiding places. They can't wait to see what crazy thing he does next. Sometimes our elf doesn't move and the boys typically assume he's too tired to fly. We try not to make a huge deal about it. Our elf is for FUN. He's become one of our favorite Christmas "traditions" {can I count him as a tradition?!?!?}

He doesn't go back to Santa and report...he just flies back to the North Pole to rest and give Santa hugs, drink syrup, and play reindeer games. And when the holiday crazies set in, I'm not ashamed to admit that I use him as leverage..."do y'all think y'all should do that?! Y'all don't want Elfabet to tell Santa tonight, do you?!" ...but those times are few and far between. Not because they're angels...lawd, no. But we've always wanted him to be just something fun...and magical... for the boys. He really does make our holidays extra magical. Just one of the fun little things for my boys to add to their Christmas memories :)

Our elf's name is ELFABET. My oldest named him when he first arrived at our house. That's a teacher's kid for ya ;) Here are a few things he's done over the years. Maybe he'll give you some new ideas?!?! Or prove how bored I really am?!?! Or maybe you just want to punch him in the throat.

Elfabet arrives every December 1st and brings the boys breakfast, random trinkets, and pajamas straight from the North Pole (aka: North Pole Breakfast).

Below are the elf ideas I shared with you last year, but before you get to those I wanted to share what he's been up to in the few days he's been here this year :)

Snap, crackle.....ELF?! (I found this one to be particulary creepy, but funny nonetheless)

A little game of Pie Face for the win. I used Cortizone cream for the whipped cream so that I wouldn't wake up to a milky mess come morning. The boys always wake up before we do and there's no way I was going to wake up early to stage this one.

It took the boys forever to find the elf in the fridge. In fact, they woke up at 6:30, scoured the house, and said they figured he was too tired to fly back to our house so they gave up. It wasn't until we woke up and went to the fridge for breakfast stuff that we alerted them to his hiding spot. Haha.

And yes...Elfabet needs a bath. In a bad, bad way. How disgustingly dirty is his hat?! Gross.

This right here is the boy's all time favorite . They still talk about it to this day!

Elfabet got a hold of my phone and went around the house snapping elfie selfies with all of us sleeping. He left the boys a note (and some cookies) telling them to look through the camera roll. If you could've heard their laughs this morning, ohmiword. Best alarm ever. They were in hysterics! He even changed the wallpaper on my phone! Sneaky son of a gun.

This is what he got into last year that had the boys in stitches...

Left to right:

He packed the boys a nutritious lunch full of syrup, chocolate syrup, icing, sprinkles, and junk food. All the essentials for a delicious meal. And one night he couldn't quite make it to the bathroom in time so he left a little mess on our coffee table. SO disgusting and so hilarious all in the same breath. I live in a house full of boys and the potty humor even makes me laugh :)

And finally there was one night he decided to help himself to some cookies, but he realized how awful those tasted and left a note for the boys letting them know he didn't like them at all. Silly Elfabet! Dog biscuits are for DOGS!! Hahahaha

3. Drinking syrup in the pantry...after all, it's one of the 4 main food groups :)

4. He turned the milk green...and my husband refused to drink it (and we wonder why my oldest is so picky?!?! ;))

5. He rode a reindeer into town and didn't want to get off.

6. He loves sugar and processed food as much as we do!

7. Bless. He's stuck outside!!!

8. Reading to his Smurfs. Smart little fella.

9. He strung a clothesline from the Christmas tree to the drapes. Then he hung up the boys underwear and himself...upside down! This was one of their favorites!

10. Drawing a picture of he and the boys. Ha.

11. Drawing faces on the boys in their Santa picture. This is the one that scarred my youngest...FREAKED him right the heck out. He pretty much screamed...then cried...and the picture came down. This is when I was feeling like option E above.

12. Wrapped the tree with toilet paper. I felt like option F and decided this wouldn't be something we do again...once was enough :)

13. Elfabet is a big fan of The Office, so he made himself a bowl of marshmallows and some hot cocoa while he watched.

14. "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."...singing while wrapped up in Christmas sheet music. See what I did there?!

15. Taking a bath in a sink full of marshmallows. When I woke up, my boys were helping themselves to a few for breakfast.

16. Stuck under a glass in our cabinets. He stayed there for a couple of days.

17. The boys were worried he wouldn't follow us to Indiana for Christmas, so he wrote them a letter telling them he'd be there. Reassurance :)

18. Another ride on the reindeer...he likes riding in style.

19. Watching "Elf" under the covers :)

20. He got into the leftover Halloween candy...and then we had to throw it all away {thanks, Elfabet!}

21. He made a shoe mountain and climbed to the top.

22. Fishing for goldfish in the potty. With a candy cane. Landon's personal favorite.

23. Made himself a little TP hammock in between the boys' stockings.

24. Coloring a little something special for the boys.

25. It was a particularly rough day at school for me, so Elfabet hopped in a cop car and pulled over a school bus :)

26. Even Elfabet knows the real reason for the season. He stayed here for a few days, too.

27. A marshmallow message to remind the boys why we celebrate Christmas.

28. Ziplining on tulle right for the tree.

29. He hung the boys undies on the tree. They laughed like crazy, and then they were all, "are you gonna take those down before people come over?!?!?!" Ha.

30. He was tired of coming up with ideas, so he hung upside down from the chandelier.

31. Telling Santa what the boys want for Christmas.

32. He hung the boys Christmas pajama pants from the stocking holders. This was the year the boys would walk by the display and run their hands along the pants. Then the stocking holders fell over and all broke. That was a last for that idea. {feeling like option E again...dang elf!!!!}

33. Okay. This one was a family favorite. We all laughed pretty hard. Elfabet stuffed himself inside of a roll of toilet paper and rolled down the stairs. Hahahaha.

34. He set out the M&M's for our Christmas cookies and decided to eat a few, too.

35. See boys, it IS cool to do chores!!!!! However, please don't use Soft Scrub on my mirrors.

35. A little Christmas camouflage.

36. Reading under the Christmas tree. We recycled quite few ideas :)

37. Sack races with the other stuffed animals!

38. I don't even know where to go with this one. Mr. SPouse was all, "why would a Purdue guy do that to Elfabet???" Ha.

39. Instead of hanging from the chandelier, he hung from a wreath and dropped down a line of candy canes.

40. A little underwear swingin' next to the Christmas cards.

41. Elfabet likes chalk art, too!

If these ideas are lame, head on over to my Elf'd Up Pinterest board and see what I've been pinning over there! A few new...and pretty darn funny...ideas!!